Traditional pay-TV has suffered another blow in its fight against cord cutters.

New data from Leichtman Research shows that the gao between cable TV and broadband subscribers widened more in the fourth quarter of 2015 even though cable TV had some success in curbing subscriber losses.

The major U.S. cable companies, which make up 95% of the market in the nation, added almost one million broadband subscribers in the quarter to hit 55.3 million total subscribers in this category. But those same companies only added 300,000 pay-TV subscribers to hit 49.1 million.

These numbers demonstrate that cable companies are struggling to attract customers to traditional pay-TV customers, though they have been able to significantly mitigate their subscriber losses. The major U.S. cable companies lost just 345,000 video subscribers in 2015, compared to 1.2 million in 2014. This was also the fewest losses since 2006, according to Leichtman Research.

The curbing of subscriber losses is likely due at least in part to skinny bundles, trimmed TV packages that offer fewer channels at a cheaper price. Comcast, for example, noted that nearly one quarter of its new video subscribers in Q4 2015 signed up for a skinny bundle. And the Wall Street estimates that satellite TV provide Dish Network has amassed almost 600,000 subscribers to its Sling TV skinny bundle.

As broadband subscribers continue to grow and traditional pay-TV subscribers continue to lose ground, many have started to question if traditional cable and satellite offerings even have a place any more. As services such as Netflix and Hulu continue to offer attractive and selective package, what is the future of pay-TV?

Margaret Boland, research analyst for BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on subscription video on-demand services that examines how the growth of SVOD is coming at the expense of the pay-TV industry. The report analyzes the state of the pay-TV industry and maps out which demographics are more likely to stop buying traditional TV packages.

The report also discuss the user base, original content offerings, and subscription models of the major subscription streaming services available today, including Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Video. Finally, it looks at how traditional pay-TV companies and premium channels like HBO and Showtime are addressing the shift to digital viewing, as well as the implications of their response for advertisers.

BI Intelligence

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

Those abandoning pay-TV packages fall into three main groups: cord-nevers, cord-cutters, and cord-shavers. Whereas video streaming services have found favor with younger viewers in particular, an increasing portion of older subscribers also are leaving behind their pay-TV packages. Still, younger viewers watch four times as much video content online than older viewers.

Netflix is the largest SVOD service and will continue to dominate the industry with an impressive original content lineup and aggressive expansion plans.

Amazon is trying to compete with Netflix by investing significant resources in original content.

Hulu is the third-largest SVOD service, but the only one to offer ad-supported membership tiers. Hulu has been the slowest to roll out original and exclusive content, but it has inked numerous deals in the past year to boost its content library.

Pay-TV companies are responding to the rise of SVOD services by offering subscribers "skinny bundles" and their own streaming services.

In full, the report:

Illustrates the fall of the traditional TV package and the rise of broadband only cable subscriptions.

Lays out the different types of viewers that are leaving behind pay-TV: cord-cutters, cord-shavers, and cord-nevers.

Examines the leading SVOD services including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and premium channel offerings from HBO and Showtime.

Explains the various ways that pay-TV companies are responding to the rise of SVOD services, notably skinny bundles and standalone streaming services.

Considers what the migration to SVOD services means to marketers.

To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options:

Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >> START A MEMBERSHIP

Purchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. >> BUY THE REPORT

The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of subscription video on-demand services.